An era of Raider wrestling is ending with the coming retirement of Coach Steve Hood, whose professional and personal life was shaped by the sport he viewed as a means to help shape young lives.

"It's been a great ride, a great experience," Hood told The Star recently. "A lot of really good experiences. Athletics gives you an ability to work with kids on a different level than in the classroom. It's an opportunity to help them learn so many life lessons about hard work, and dealing with adversity, and how to prepare. I tell them everything in life is a competition; you compete for jobs, you...